Hartford, Conn. – Senior co-captain Kate Giddens (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) notched her 1,000th kill and classmate Gina Buzzelli (Chesire, Conn.) recorded her 1,000th career assist, as the Trinity College volleyball team defeated the Hamilton Continentals, 3-1, to earn their first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory of the season, and improve to 5-7 overall. The loss drops Hamilton to 3-10 on the year.

The first set was won 25-20 by the Bantams as both teams traded points back and forth all set. Trinity eventually pulled ahead 20-19, causing the Continentals to take a timeout. After the timeout, Trinity took a 23-20 lead after consecutive kills by freshman Hanna Engstrom (Hopkinton, Mass.) and senior Kate Giddens (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), with Giddens finishing the set via a kill hit to the back corner past all Hamilton players.

Hamilton got out to a 16-12 lead in the second set behind strong play from Erin Donahue (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) who tallied six kills and an ace in the set. After falling behind 22-16, Trinity took a timeout to try and regroup. The timeout seemed to work as the Bantams scored three straight points to cut the Hamilton lead to 22-19, causing the Continentals to take a timeout of their own. Out of the timeout, Hamilton figured things out and won the set 25-20 to tie the game at one set a piece.

Set three saw Hamilton get out to a six point lead, only to lose it after Trinity went ahead 17-15. Both teams traded points back and forth until the Bantams took a 22-20 lead, forcing Hamilton to call a timeout. An unforced error by the Continentals put Trinity up 24-22 and a kill by senior Hunter Drews (Clifton Park, N.Y.) ended the set, giving the Bantams a 2-1 lead.

Hamilton got out to the early lead once again in the fourth set however the Bantams once again came back to take the lead. Trinity took a 21-19 lead, forcing the Continentals to take a timeout, but kept the momentum going out of the timeout, scoring 3 straight points to take a 24-19 lead. Hamilton kept fighting though, scoring two points in a row to cut the lead to three, before a kill by Susannah Matthai (Baltimore, Md.) ended the set and won the match for Trinity, 3-1.

Watch this nice point from a very exciting game. 

Giddens led the Bantams with 17 kills in her first game back from injury, while Matthai and sophomore Grace Metry (Grosse Point Park, Mich.) combined for 30 digs. Buzzelli needed two assists to record 1,000 in her Trinity College career and got three in the first set to pass the historic mark. She finished the match with 19, leading all players. For Hamilton, Donahue finished the afternoon with 11 kills while teammate Jamie Granskie (Hingham, Mass.) led the team with 21 digs.

Trinity returns to action on Tuesday, October 6, as they host Smith. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.